


Gentle Fingertips

by capsicle_joy (daggersofLoki)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Protective Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers Feels, Steve Rogers and the 21st Century
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-11-21 14:26:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18143405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daggersofLoki/pseuds/capsicle_joy
Summary: What inspired this was: me being sore from training. I felt like this was appropriate even though the reader is in much more pain than I am. Haha. Enjoy!





	Gentle Fingertips

**Author's Note:**

> What inspired this was: me being sore from training. I felt like this was appropriate even though the reader is in much more pain than I am. Haha. Enjoy!

Your phone buzzed against the nightstand, waking you from your deep slumber and you rolled over to shut your phone's alarm off but winced when your aching muscles began moving again. You released a groggy groan through your nose, partly because of your sleepy state and partly because of your soreness, before reaching out to turn the buzzing off. This time, the groan came from your mouth when a sharp pain shot up your arm and into your shoulder. You swallowed thickly and shut the whirring of your phone off and carefully pushed yourself to a sitting position on the bed. Mistake number one.

The familiar pain re-emitted but from your shoulder and back muscles. The pain flowed through almost every muscle from your neck, down and you whimpered softly. Your last mission really nipped you in the bud. It was only the day before when you were being punched, slapped, and thrown into walls and onto the hard cement and dirt floors by your enemies. Nothing drew blood, except maybe your hands which scraped against the ground when you landed, but that had only been barely a drop of crimson.

You lifted your hand slowly and rubbed your face, only to feel pain on your face too. You sighed, throwing your bruised legs over the side of the bed, and limped into the ensuite bathroom you had received when moving into the Avenger's Compound. With half-closed eyes, you flicked the switch and rubbed the sleep from your eyes before glancing in the mirror. Your reflection horrified you. There were black and blue bruises along the crevasses of your cheekbones and your jawline, red, angry marks under your cheekbones and adjacent to edges of your forehead, and your lip was split on the left side. Your eyes widened and you gently lifted your hand to caress the less-than improvements that had been made to your facial features.

"Holy shit," You said under your breath as you leaned closer to the mirror to further investigate your face. You were barely recognizable under your current state, but thinking nothing of it, you readied yourself for public view and made your way into the living room where everyone else had been placed. You kept your gaze on the ground as you walked, as always, but lifted your head when your friends' feet came into your view and smiled. Well, attempted to smile considering your swollen cheeks wouldn't quite allow you to complete the gesture.

"Holy shit." You heard Tony say and you glanced around the room. Everyone had the same stunned, dumbfounded look upon their faces as their eyes flicked across your face. You felt heat rush to your ears as you involuntarily sat beside Steve and put your hands in your lap. Everyone's gaze followed you as you sat down and you sighed deeply.

"Can you please... not stare?" In your peripheral vision, everyone turned their heads away from you except for one person. Steve. You lifted your gaze to his and noticed that his expression was different. His face had softened after you spoke and he looked like a puppy who had just been kicked after doing nothing wrong.

"That mission really did you wrong, didn't it?" Tony teased and Steve shot him the death glare. Now was not the time to be teasing you. Tony lifted his hands in a surrendered position and backed away as everyone stood to leave the room. They must have taken the hint, considering your crushes on one another were known by everyone except the two of you. They all parted ways, including Tony, and left you and Steve alone and still sitting closely on the couch.

"What happened? You seemed to be doing fine when I checked on you." Steve's brow furrowed and he gently placed his hand on your knee. You tensed when his hand made contact with your sensitive skin but soon relaxed into his touch, releasing a much-needed sigh as he kept his hand on your knee.

"I guess I wasn't doing as good as you thought." You laughed softly but regretted it when your ribs pressed against the lining of your skin erupting a dry cough to rack your body. You hacked and coughed for a couple seconds as Steve rubbed your back, gliding his hand up and down your spine as you held your cloth-covered arm over your mouth. "Ouch." You huffed after your coughing-fit and Steve chuckled quietly as he helped you sit back up, seeing that you had leaned over while convulsing. "Sorry."

"It's alright. Do you need anything? Maybe painkillers? Or water?" Steve stood from his position and took a step to grab you both but your hand wrapped around his wrist before he could leave.

"Stay. Please?"

He sighed and shook his head. he leaned down and picked you up bridal style as he headed into the kitchen to grab you anything you might need. 

You were about to protest but realized you would never be able to change his mind and you eventually snuggled into his chest and breathed in his comforting scent. It was solely Steve's special scent. He reached for the painkillers and filled up a glass of water before heading off in the direction of your bedroom.

"Wait." You clenched his shirt in your fist to gain his attention and attempted to smile when he looked down at you in his arms. "Can we go to your room?"

He gave you a flabbergasted look before questioning you softly, "Why?"

You sighed and swallowed your fear as you glanced up at him through your eyelashes. "Because I need to tell you something and I wanna be in your room." You shrugged and held in your wince when pain shot to your shoulder and upper back once again.

Steve complied, taking you to his room and gently placing you on his bed. He sat down beside you and waited for you to tell him what seemed to be rather nonchalant but he was still curious.

Turns out, it was the least nonchalant thing you could have told him.

You inhaled deeply before sitting up and resting against the headboard. "Okay, this might be a little forward but it's time you know." You swallowed the growing lump of fear in your throat and folded your hands together before continuing. "You're my favorite person and I really like spending time with you, and I get really sad when you go on missions without me or when you're sad and..." You mentally slapped yourself and instead, opted to go for the easiest way of telling him. "What I'm trying to say is: I love you." You held your breath and waited for him to respond. Fear crept up your spine but you also had high hopes.

Your heart leaped for joy when an ear-splitting grin found its way onto Steve's face. He lifted his hand and cupped your face in it as he leaned in and gently pressed his lips to yours. You carefully kissed back because of your swollen face and he seemed to understand as he handled your lips as if they were made of the most delicate material in the world.

Once you pulled away, you were full of bliss and in a daze. He stared at you lovingly and tenderly stroked your cheek with his fingertip. "I love you too." His finger remained on the swollen skin of your cheek as his other hand found yours and his fingers laced with yours. 

You would soon find out that telling Steve how you felt about him was the best decision of your entire life.


End file.
